An historic mission began early on Wednesday (25 June) as astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary were launched to the International Space Station (ISS) for their countries’ first-ever visit. They were joined by NASA veteran Peggy Whitson.

The crew lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at approximately 2:30 a.m. EDT, embarking on a mission organized by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX.

The four astronauts - Peggy Whitson of the U.S., Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary - were carried aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on top of a Falcon 9 rocket.

This launch marked the first Crew Dragon flight since Elon Musk briefly considered retiring the spacecraft amid political tensions earlier this month.

After a roughly 28-hour flight, the capsule is expected to dock with the ISS, orbiting 402 kilometres (250 miles) above Earth.

Onboard, the crew will spend 14 days conducting microgravity research alongside the station’s current seven occupants - three Americans, one Japanese, and three Russian cosmonauts.

For India, Poland, and Hungary, this mission represents a major milestone: their first human spaceflight missions to the ISS in more than 40 years. The flight also acts as a stepping stone for India’s Gaganyaan crewed spacecraft, planned for launch in 2027.

Leading the crew is Peggy Whitson, a retired NASA astronaut and the first woman to command two ISS expeditions. With 675 days in space - the U.S. record - Whitson now serves as Axiom’s director of human spaceflight.

The mission was delayed by one day due to the weather but successfully launched early Wednesday, marking the fourth private astronaut flight arranged by Axiom since 2022 as the company expands its commercial space endeavours.

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